A New Beginning
by HighlylogicalGH
Summary: It's Albus Severus's first year at Hogwarts and he couldn't be more terrified. But he finds solace in the most unlikely of friends.  What will happen when a Potter befriends a Malfoy?
1. Chapter 1

**A New Beginning**

**By HighlylogicalGH**

**A/N: This is my first fanfiction ever. I hope you like it and I would really appreciate reviews!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: The Train<strong>

Albus Severus Potter stood there, just stood there. As the train rumbled along under his feet, the dark-haired eleven year-old stood with his back to the recently shut door of the Hogwarts express, from which he had just climbed through from Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Albus didn't know what to do or where to go.

He could look for James. But this seemed like a stupid idea, considering his older brother had never let Albus hang around with him and his older friends. He thought his best option would be to try and find his cousin Rose. He took a step forward but lost his balance as the train lurched slightly to the left. Albus steadied himself on the brass handrail fastened to the wall.

_Okay,_ he thought. _I'll just stand here until we get to school. I mean, it is a magic train, surely it won't take that long, _but even as he pulled his trunk and the cage on top of it closer to him, he knew that he would be standing there for most of the day. _Oh come on, _he told himself. _You're being stupid. Just grab your things and find a bloody compartment! _But even as he thought this he knew that he couldn't will himself to move.

So there Albus stood, rooted to the spot, studying the worn scarlet carpet with much more intensity than was really necessary. After what felt like ages (but in reality was only about fifteen minutes), a tall girl with dark brown hair noticed him as she walked by. The girl was already in her robes, sporting a yellow and black striped tie and was fixing a badge of the same colors to the front of her robes.

"Oh!" she said with a start upon seeing him, standing there wide-eyed. "And what's your name?" but when he made no effort to reply she continued. "My name is Eleanor Bones. I'm a Hufflepuff prefect," she said, indicating the badge that he now saw had a badger and a "P" emblazoned on it. When he still gave no reply she said, matter-of-factly "Well you can't just stand there all day."

Albus tried to reply but all he could get out was something that sounded like "I…er…standing…"

Eleanor Bones gave him a kind smile and said "Let's go and find you a compartment. I met some of my closest friends on this train." She handed him the cage containing his snowy owl. She grabbed his trunk and led him down the long hallway, peering into each compartment as he went, until finally stopping to say "This looks good." The prefect bustled into the compartment with his trunk and heaved it onto the luggage rack. "Don't worry," she added as she led him into the nearly empty compartment. "Hogwarts is the best place in the world. You're going to love it." And with that, she slid the compartment door shut before Albus could mutter a faint "thank you."

Albus Severus finally tore his gaze from the empty hallway and froze, for he had just seen who he was sharing the small compartment with.

"Well, sit down," said Scorpius Malfoy after a few long moments of still silence.

Albus' mind was racing as he made to sit down across from the blond, pointed-faced boy he had seen on the platform. He immediately thought of the stories his father and Uncle Ron had told him about their days at school and wondered if he should take out his wand, in case this pale boy tried to jinx him. But he dismissed this thought, reminding himself that he hardly knew any actual spells, and certainly none that would help him in a duel. He slowly sat down, relieved that he wouldn't have to make a fool of himself as the other boy made no attempt to attack.

The minutes wore on in silence as the scarlet train made its way farther north. Albus stared resolutely out the window, aware of the Malfoy boy's eyes on him. _This is ridiculous, _thought Albus. _Quit being an idiot and just say something! _He resolved to be brave like his parents and after a few moments of mustering up his courage, he put on as defiant an expression as he could and opened his mouth. "You—"

"I'm not my father," the boy said quietly, interrupting Albus so that he just sat there, struck-dumb with his mouth open. Albus didn't know what to say; at least he had enough sense to close his mouth. "I'm not my father," Scorpius repeated. His tone was level, his face composed. "And neither are you," he said looking him straight in the eyes before Albus quickly turned to look out the window. "I don't think we should let the past dictate the future; I think it's time for a new beginning." He cleared his throat and said in a clear voice, "Hello, my name is Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy."

Albus glanced back and saw that Scorpius Malfoy had his hand held out in front of him. _What is he playing at?_ Awkwardly, Albus lightly grasped the boy's hand and muttered to the floor "I'm Albus Potter." He made to draw back his hand but Scorpius held tight.

"A proper handshake," he said. "Involves eye contact." Albus looked up nervously, but to his astonishment, he saw that the boy was smiling.

They released hands and Albus watched as Scorpius' eyes roved over him in an analytical sort of way before coming to rest on the cage beside him. "She's beautiful," he said, nodding toward the Snowy Owl.

"Thanks," said Albus, grateful for this new subject. "Her name is Perenelle, my dad gave her to me on my eleventh birthday."

"Didn't your father get an owl like that for _his _eleventh birthday?" asked Scorpius.

"Yeah," replied Albus, a bit surprised. "Hedwig. How'd you know?"

"Oh, said Scorpius. I must have read it somewhere.

They carried on in silence for a little while. Albus was still trying to get it into his head that a Malfoy wasn't just being polite, but Scorpius was being downright pleasant! Albus hoped this wasn't the end of their conversation, and he willed himself to come up with something interesting to talk about. But after a few minutes, Scorpius spoke.

"Are you excited to go to Hogwarts?"

"Yes! But I'm really nervous! I'm really worried that people won't like me—" he stopped himself as his cheeks turned pink and he looked down. "I'm sorry," he said to his knees.

"What house do you think you'll be in?" Scorpius asked, keeping the conversation going.

"I don't know. I don't think I'm brave enough to be in Gryffindor," he replied dolefully.

"Is that where you're hoping to go then?" asked Scorpius. "Gryffindor?"

"Well, maybe. I don't know. That's where my brother is. But it would be so terrible if they put me in Slyth—" he caught himself, horrified. "Oh no! I'm-I'm really sorry! I-I didn't mean—"

"Don't worry," Scorpius interrupted, surveying him quizzically. "You haven't offended me. I personally don't really think I would fit in Slytherin."

"But, don't families usually stay in the same house?" asked Albus, shocked.

"Didn't you just say you don't know if you want to be in Gryffindor?" said Scorpius, raising his eyebrows. "Hasn't your whole family been in Gryffindor?"

"Oh, right…I guess…yeah," Albus muttered looking down again. "I'm sorry. I just thought…your dad."

"My father's not the same man that he used to be," said Scorpius quietly, staring out the window. "Nor is my family."

"No! I mean! Of course-of course not!" He stammered. "I didn't-I'm really-I never meant any- Oh! I'm really, really sorry!"

"Stop," said Scorpius calmly, looking him straight in the eyes. And then he smiled. "Albus Severus Potter, you really need to stop apologizing."

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><p><strong>AN Thanks for reading! This is my first ever fanfiction so please leave a review to tell me what you think! Also give your ideas for how the story should progress, I don't really have an idea in mind for it yet but I'm open to anything! Hope you enjoyed it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A New Beginning**

**Hey everyone! Hope you're enjoying the story so far! **

**I've got the first five chapters so updates shouldn't take**

** very long.**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Harry Potter! If I did you wouldn't **

**be reading it on this website!**

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><p>Chapter Two: The Sorting Ceremony<p>

The next few hours that passed were much more enjoyable than Albus had expected when he first boarded the train. Not even at school yet and he already met someone whom he genuinely liked and, even more unexpected, someone who seemed to genuinely like him back! Scorpius seemed to have an endless supply of topics that intrigued them both, something that Albus was incredibly grateful for because he didn't want to fall into anymore awkward silences, something that was usually unavoidable. What his parents would say when they found out that he had spent the day with a Malfoy…_But it doesn't matter, _he told himself. _They'll be thrilled that I managed to talk to someone outside of the family! _And storing these thoughts in the back of his mind, he continued with their conversation: how ridiculous the new Comet, 5-person Broomstick looked.

"But it looks so ridiculous!" said Scorpius. "They say it's made for the whole family, but what family would want to ride something like that!"

"I know!" Said Albus, much more outspoken than usual. "And it's so expensive! It would probably be cheaper to just buy five brooms!"

They continued to laugh as the train made its way farther and farther north. Dusk was beginning to fall when someone poked their head into the compartment, smiling as she saw the two laughing, out of breath boys.

"We will be arriving in Hogsmeade station in about twenty minutes," said Eleanor Bones, the kind-faced Hufflepuff prefect from that morning. It would probably be wise to change into your robes now," and with a glance at Scorpius, she leaned closer to Albus and whispered "see? What did I tell you?" and with a wink, she continued down the gradually darkening hallway.

As she had predicted, they arrived in Hogsmeade twenty minutes later, dressed in their brand new robes. Albus and Scorpius gathered up their things and made their way through the crowd, onto the cold platform. Albus could see Hagrid in the distance, and was about to go and greet the family friend, when he saw Rose run up to the half-giant and give him a hug. A feeling of dread began to bubble inside his stomach. He had completely forgotten about Rose. What would she say when he saw Albus with a Malfoy? He decided to find out later and quickly bent down when she looked over, pretending to tie his shoe. When he looked up, she had disappeared once more amongst the moving mass of black robes and eager faces. He and Scorpius walked towards the cries of "Firs' years follow me! Firs' years this way!"

They got into a boat with a boy holding a cat and a pretty girl with dark skin. Albus shivered slightly in the cold as the boats made their way across the glassy black water. Even at a distance they could see the shape of the enormous castle, framed against a perfectly clear night, filled with stars. The yellow windows glowed with a friendly and inviting warmth. Up ahead they could hear Hagrid talking loudly, probably about what Hogwarts was like, but they couldn't make out what exactly he was saying. The boy's cat stuck its sleek face over the side of the boat, staring into the watery depths, until a large tentacle rose out right next to it, causing the poor cat to jump back into its master's arms. The surrounding boats all laughed until one girl jumped and said "Ooh, look!" They all looked up to see the first few boats bump against the shore, and the passengers hop out onto the dark ground.

"Leave yer things in the boats!" Hagrid called as the last few students got out. "They'll be up in yer dormitories waitin' fer yeh after the feast!" Albus could just make out the trail leading up to the castle in the golden light cast from the high windows. "Righ' through here then, there yeh go," said Hagrid, holding the magnificent oak front door open for them. "Jus' wait there in the entrance hall until someone comes along ter fetch yeh." Hagrid led the last few people in and then walked through a pair of doors on the side of the hall, through which they could hear the noise of hundreds of people chatting to one another.

Albus turned to Scorpius to see if he too shared his excitement and foreboding; however, Scorpius' expression was unreadable.

"Al? Al? Albus, where are you!" Albus turned to see his cousin Rose pushing her way through the crowd. Her eyes landed on him and she rushed over. "Al, where have you been? I've been looking all over for you!" She looked him up and down, as if she were checking to make sure he wasn't hurt. "Your hair is all messy!" she said, trying to make it lie flat. Albus blushed scarlet; she was always doing this, _Merlin! _He thought. _You'd think she was my mother,_ Albus thought as he tugged away from her. "Anyway," she continued. "I'm sorry we got separated! I met some really nice girls and I sort of lost track of the time. I was going to go look for you, but I knew you'd be fine. It's not like you would just stand in the hallway by yourself the whole day!" He blushed even darker as she said this, hoping against hope that no one was listening.

"Well anyway," she said. "Who did you sit with? Did you make any friends?"

"Er…I…well, you know I…" he glanced at Scorpius who raised his eyebrows, a curious expression on his face. "I—"

"Ooh Al," she said, cutting him off. "Don't look now but that Malfoy boy is behind you! Ugh, how creepy! Come on, let's—"

But she stopped as a tall witch in gray-blue robes cleared her throat at the front of the crowd. "Hello first years!" she said cheerfully. "I am professor Page. I am Deputy Headmistress as well as head of Ravenclaw house. Now, in just a moment, we will head into the Great Hall to begin your Sorting," she gestured first toward the doors that Hagrid recently disappeared through, and then toward the stool behind her, upon which sat an incredibly frayed and old-looking, pointed witch's hat. There was a murmur through the crowd as the other first years, like Albus, realized that it must be the Sorting Hat. "There are four houses that you are eligible to be sorted into. The houses are: Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Each house is rich with history, turning out witches and wizards who have made incredible contributions to both the Wizarding, and Muggle world. I'm sure many of you are aware that this school is filled with history. This is where, just 19 years ago, the War was fought, by some of your parents too, and Lord Voldemort was destroyed. There was another bout of hushed murmuring at this and Albus felt his cheeks go pink as he felt many pairs of eyes on him. Welcome, new students, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Professor Page picked up the stool with the old hat on it, and led them through the double doors.

They were met with a nearly overwhelming sight. Hundreds of teenagers were seated at four incredibly long tables, each with a different colored banner hung above it, and each layed out with empty golden plates, silverware, and goblets. Thousands of candles suspended by nothing were floating all throughout the gargantuan rectangular room. At the far end of the hall was a shorter table, the figures seated at it were not quite visible until they had walked most of the way up the space between two tables. Only adults were seated at this table and Albus took it to be the teacher's table. In the middle of it was seated a slightly severe-looking witch whose dark grey hair was tied back in a painfully tight bun.

Albus would have loved to enjoy the magnificent sight around him, but it was taking all his concentration to keep his knees from shaking. He was hardly aware of the frayed hat, sitting on the stool in front of him, singing about each house. He tried to keep his breathing under control as one by one, the first years began making their way over to the stool and tried on the hat, waiting for it to decide their fate. He wasn't sure who was going into what house, although he was pretty sure that a girl named Emily Finnigan was sorted into Gryffindor. _Gryffindor…_thought Albus. _There is no way I'd make it into Gryffindor. _Well, there might be a chance that he could make it into his family's house. Didn't his father say, just this morning, _The sorting hat takes your choice into account._ Was that really this morning? It felt like weeks and weeks ago.

"Malfoy, Scorpius," read professor Page from her scroll. An odd silence seemed to fill the hall as the skinny pale boy made his way to the stool. The hat fell over his sleek blond hair and past his grey eyes. It sat for a good minute and a half before shouting "RAVENCLAW."

The hall remained silent in shock as Scorpius took off the hat and walked to the Ravenclaw table. If Scorpius was aware of the silence he didn't show it; he kept his head high and continued toward the table. Before he got there, a prefect stood up and began to clap. Then a few more people began to clap and soon the whole table was on its feet, cheering and clapping as the blond boy joined their ranks.

He was still watching the Ravenclaw table when he felt hands push him toward the front. He hadn't even realized they called his name. He then became aware of the even more pronounced silence than when Scorpius had gone up. He felt his cheeks grow hot as they blushed scarlet and was grateful when the hat slid over them.

"Another Potter, I see…" said a raspy voice in his ear. "What are we going to do with you?" _Anything but Slytherin_, he thought as hard as he could. "That's not the first time I've heard that," said the hat, a slight smirk detectable in the voice. "But not quite the right stuff for a Gryffindor." _Oh no! I knew it!_ "You're fairly bright you know." _Yeah right!_ He thought back. _Like anyone would believe that. _"Well I do," the hat replied. "RAVENCLAW."

When Albus took the hat off, the entire Ravenclaw table was already on their feet, cheering and applauding. As he made a beeline for the Ravenclaw table he did a quick sweep of the hall. The Gryffindors were all looking rather gloomy, and as he looked back at those waiting to be sorted he saw Rose, plain fury on her face and staring daggers at him.

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><p><strong>AN: So that was chapter two! Hope you liked it. Once again, **

**please give reviews, be they negative, positive, or just entertaining! **

**And remember to give input for the plot, I have a bit written but I would **

**love some ideas for which direction to take this story! Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's Chapter Three!**

** I just want to say how incredibly exciting it is to get reviews! **

**Please tell me your thoughts on the story, they are very much appreciated!**

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><p>Chapter Three: The Feast<p>

Albus didn't know what to feel. He was certainly very happy that he wouldn't have to go through that again, but the look one Rose's face plainly told him that the worst was far from over. He stared at his feet as the many Ravenclaws patted him on the back as he took his seat next to Scorpius. _Oh no!_ A new thought had just occurred to him. His father said that it would be alright if he got put into Slytherin, but he hadn't said anything about Ravenclaw. _Shut up,_ he told himself. _They're not going to care. _But he still wasn't completely reassured.

"Well, we're in Ravenclaw," Scorpius whispered as the applause died down.

"Yeah…" Albus replied. "But I don't know why! I'm not nearly smart enough to be here! The hat must have made a mistake!" He stared down at the table and gripped the edge of the bench so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"The Sorting Hat knows what it's doing," Scorpius told him. "It has been sorting students for over a thousand years. It wouldn't put you in Ravenclaw if it didn't think you could handle it," he finished matter-of-factly.

"I guess you're right," said Albus, feeling slightly relieved, and standing to clap with the rest of the Ravenclaws as Marie Thomas came to join them. "It's just," Albus continued. "Rose has always been the smart one."

"Your cousin?" Scorpius said in a tone slightly cooler than before. "Speak of the devil," he muttered. And sure enough, the red haired girl was making her way up to the stool. After three seconds contact the hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR."

Rose made her way to the cheering table and shot another malevolent look at Albus, who stared back down at the empty plate in front of him. Professor Page took the stool and hat away as the last student, Kalista Zabini, walked toward the cheering Slytherins.

The Great Hall became quite as the severe-looking woman stood up from the center of the teachers table. Albus had the distinct impression that they were about to receive some kind of reprimand, but then her expression softened a bit when she smiled.

"Welcome new students and welcome back old students," her voice was loud and clear over the hall. For those of you who do not know, I am professor McGonagall, and I am the Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I have some announcements to make, but first, I'm sure you are all very hungry from your long journey today, so I would like you to first enjoy the feast."

As she sat back in her chair, a feast appeared before them. As they all began to dig in to the various options surrounding them, Albus couldn't help but think that a meal like this rivaled even grandma Weasley's cooking. All that could be heard were the various tinklings of forks and knives as the students had helpings of steak and kidney pie, potatoes and sprouts. The amount of talk grew gradually louder as the feast wore on and soon the hall was filled with a friendly buzzing as friends recounted their summer holidays to each other. When desert appeared and the noise throughout the hall had reached a new high, Albus felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned from his chocolate gateau and immediately lost his appetite as he saw an angry looking Rose Weasley glaring at him.

"Ravenclaw? Ravenclaw?" she hissed at him. "How could you be in Ravenclaw? What's gotten into you? Are you trying to rebel against your parents or something? Do you realize who you're sitting next to? That's that Malfoy boy!"

"I'm…I don't…I—" he spluttered as she grabbed his arm and lifted him from the table, so as to move their conversation away from the glaring Ravenclaws.

"How could you abandon me like that? We were supposed to be in Gryffindor together! And now look what you've done!" she pointed toward the Ravenclaw table, where Scorpius had turned to watch their conversation intently. "And would you mind explaining to me _why_ you were sitting with _Malfoy?_ Have you not heard what my dad has said about his father? And now you're eating with him? Merlin, when did you become so stupid?"

"I—" began Albus, before his view of Rose's face was suddenly obscured by sleek blond hair. He peered around and was surprised to see Scorpius standing between himself and Rose, glaring intensely at her. When he spoke, his voice was icy.

"Do not call my friend stupid."

"Excuse me?" cried Rose incredulously. "Your _friend?_" she said with a disbelieving look at Albus, before turning back to Scorpius and drawing herself up, an inch from his face. "He is my cousin! Don't you _dare _tell me how to speak to him, Malfoy! Al!" she said rounding on him. "You'd better stay away from this guy! You can't honestly like him! Think of his family!"

"Well…" he began, his face a deeper shade of red than the Gryffindor banner, wishing he could be back at the table with its delicious food and friendly people.

"I think," said Scorpius coldly. "Albus is old enough to decide who he wants to sit with." And then, turning to Albus he said his tone polite and free of the frostiness he had used with Rose, "Albus, do you want to continue to be friends?"

Albus was trying to take it all in. Scorpius actually considered him a friend! And not only that, but he was standing up for him, to Rose! _Rose!_ The girl who once tried to bury a boy who stole his ice cream back when they were eight!

"Well?" said Rose in a threatening voice. "Are you friends with—with Malfoy?

Albus could feel the heat radiating from his face as he looked up from his feet and said in a quavering voice, "yes."

Rose made some kind of unintelligible noise that sounded a bit like a strangled scream before storming off to the Gryffindor table.

"Come on," said Scorpius quietly, and Albus walked back to his spot at the Ravenclaw table with his new friend.

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><p><strong>AN: So that was chapter 3, please tell me if I'm making Albus too socially inept or if it's endearing. By writing this I kind of feel like I'm getting revenge on all of the stories that have made me procrastinate! Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review!**


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